Opinion

New York members of Congress should reject a budget without a Dream Act

| January 17, 2018

January 17, 2018

As the federal budget negotiations come to a head, New York’s members of Congress need to be focused on protecting immigrant youth and families. After President Donald Trump acted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, 800,000 immigrant youth raised in this country were put at risk of being separated from their families. On Long Island, which I represent in the state Assembly, there are more than 10,000 immigrant youth who go to high school, college and work every day whose lives – and whose families’ futures – are now in limbo.

Resolving the crisis that Trump has created – as passing the Dream Act to legalize these immigrants would do – must be a top priority in the ongoing negotiations in Washington. And New York’s representatives must answer the call by vowing to vote against any federal budget extension bill that does not include protections for Dreamers. Quite simply, they must stand together and say: “No Dream Act, No budget deal.”

This moment offers a particular opportunity for congressional Democrats: Despite being in the House and Senate minorities, no budget deal can pass without Democratic votes, at least in the Senate. So our side has real leverage and we must use it to force Republicans to agree to protect Dreamers.

New York state is home to more than 4.5 million immigrants. These are families that have bought homes, paid taxes, opened businesses and have started their careers here, resulting in billions of dollars in economic contributions each year.

Tens of thousands of Long Island’s immigrants currently have legal status in this country through two vital programs: DACA and Temporary Protected Status.

Sadly, the Trump administration is unfairly targeting them, threatening their livelihoods by recently acting to end DACA and terminating TPS protections for people from Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador. Just last week, Trump made a racist comment to members of Congress about many New Yorkers’ homelands in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

With this anti-immigrant federal administration, it’s imperative that we do all we can to protect our immigrant communities.

For immigrants, including those who live my district, New York is home. Many of them came here as children and DACA has allowed them to work and go to college. We can’t afford to lose them.

This is why New York needs all of its members of Congress to support a passage of a clean Dream Act. So far, Republicans like Peter King, Lee Zeldin and Dan Donovan have not supported a clean Dream Act. They should change that. It is the best option for those young New Yorkers whose lives are in jeopardy after the Trump administration ended DACA. We also need to support the extension of TPS to protect our relatives and neighbors, many of whom are the breadwinners in their homes. Those families play a critical role in our communities, in our economy and in our society, because they are New Yorkers too.

According to estimates published last year by the Center for American Progress, New York would lose $2.37 billion in annual economic activity if DACA is revoked, and another billion dollars annually if TPS holders are deported.

Taking away the legal status of DACA and TPS recipients would mean tens of thousands at risk of losing their homes, losing their jobs and being separated from their families. It would lead to the closing of businesses run by immigrants: delis and shops in our neighborhoods, taxi services and other vital amenities. It would also send away agricultural and factory workers, and cause lasting damage to New York’s rich cultural fabric. The trauma being inflicted by these inhumane policy changes in our communities is also creating a generation of children from immigrant families who will be forever marked by exclusion and family separation.

Passing a Dream Act and extending TPS protections is the least we can do to protect our communities. They have worked really hard to provide for their families and to provide for New York. Our state’s representatives must join together to say: we have their backs.

Phil Ramos represents the 6^th Assembly District, which includes Brentwood.

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